Raspberry Crystal

February 22

I am currently trying out fantasseria, and have worked out a deal* with my brain to let the landscape make sense, and under those new circumstances the place is actually quite beautiful.
So what I was wondering, is if anybody noticed if the number of available fantasy homes changed after the treehouses were released?
I'm talking later on than the novelty rush stage.
If there was no real long term change then this could affect how the Moles think about, say, adding new home styles to the Log Sub-continent.

* The deal is that Raspberry is renting a property in Norfolk. She has always wanted to go there and sail a boat on the broads (canals). Once arrived the place is a little different to her expectations, but the Edwardian style home is lovely, the land is as flat as she might expect, and she thinks that maybe that mushroom omelette she ate at a motorway service station on the way down has given her a visual migraine.

February 19

6 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

I know everyone here is super well-meaning, but not everyone wants to be greeted by chat when they're first experiencing a game. Some do, and they should have access to mentors / greeters / Torley. Personally, though, if I'd had an oldbie descend upon me when I first arrived, no matter how charming and earnest they may be, I'd have logged out and deleted the app instantly.

Newcomers need to feel welcome in their own way of being welcomed, so the environment must first make it as automatic as possible for them to discover and pursue that tailored path.

So, no offense to all the good intentions, but I know as a newbie I wouldn't want to be talked to, and I also know if I talked to newbies now I'd be doing nobody any favors. The newbies need to want it, and the people talking to them need to be supremely skilled at it.

Now, as far as knowing what's really happening in the welcome hub: Maybe mentors could tell us their personal experiences but I'd much rather see some numbers. Of course that should be the Lab's best guarded secret sauce, the key to their future dominance of all competitors, but… yeah. We all have no objective idea what's really happening, and no practical way of discovering it.

I would run for the hills if a greeter approached me while I was already disorientated and overwhelmed with new stuff, i couldn't deal with a social interaction at the same time!

However, I do know that this is just what some people want and need.

February 19

Or another way of asking the question, where would someone stand / live if they wanted the best chance of seeing boats go past?
I'm thinking you guys who frequent peak hours might have a better idea than me as you will have more data.

February 18

"I saved a lot of time by not learning how to do EEP"

February 18

13 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

People, particularly Belli GOH players, chase the shiny. So yes, I think people are trading in some of their favorite, older spots for newer ones. I'm thinking of letting my terrific Vic in Dimanche go, it's wonderful but - I changed the house to a different style, never finished decorating it ... I think I'm bored with it.

It might also be that Belli in general is losing some shine. I have one PP avatar, no plans to have another. I find myself wondering how many more themes it makes sense to do. The recent thread asking about future themes didn't yield too much that was compelling. Are we all sort of running out of Belli steam? Will oldbies slowly tiptoe away if LL stops making new themes?

Has LL ever engaged in urban renewal, blowing away a bunch of existing, sparsely populated regions? They didn't even do it when mainland was really languishing, cut up everywhere by ad farmers. Will they ever move people from the old LH regions? Will they ever rehab Belli regions, like the chalets?

Perhaps the plan for Belli is to keep the landscape as is, and add more styles of homes to keep the shiny going. I could definitely see that working in the Trad regions. Maybe rework the landscaping a LITTLE to add a soundscape. They could even evolve the Chalet theme with new styles of homes, even though the landscape is very specific to the theme. A (quiet) windmill you can live in. An old Teutonic home of some kind. A small thatched cottage.

I think they're working on a new style home now, on and off, but no way to tell if its for an existing theme or a new one.

Back in the day Patch was saying we have only 'x' more themes to go, and yet here we are, with X+N different styles on offer and still expanding.
I would say the hard limit to the number of PP membership is finances, that the higher the cost the smaller the pool of SL users who would be willing to take the leap, no matter what style of home might be available.
I get the feeling that LL are feeling their way forward at the moment, and being tentative about over building the 2048s.

18 hours ago, Matthieu Quander said:

The fuzzy math is whether people are dropping multiple Premium accounts to promote one to Premium Plus. As you noted earlier, a two for one trade is still a considerable win for LL, but there is always the possibility that people are are demoting 3 or more Premiums, preferring to have one house they can fully decorate to several that are more challenging. If that is happening, it likely isn't at a high enough rate to cause concern, though the number of empty parcels in what were very popular themes certainly raises the question.

Even if it is a break even scenario for LL, it is a good business decision, as they now have available inventory in more themes. We'll have to see if the number of available water and pier stilts increases when the unreleased parcels are finished.

I mentioned on another thread that I didn't think it would be the best use of Mole time to invest in adding new models to some of the existing themes, but I have changed my mind about that. The glut of empty Chalets and Logs justifies doing something to generate a renewed interest in those themes.

I agree about a potential benefit for adding new models to the logs and chalets. The logs in particular could have designs added which would not detract from the overall theme, but simply give a cosier feel, or a different outlook for tricky plots.
The chalets are more of a challenge. Having a road full of windmill homes could wind up feeling like a disney park which could antagonize the residents who like the existing feel of the area.
It is such a shame that adding seasons would be uneconomic at this point.

Overall, I would hope that the Lindens might consider creating another tier of membership for the 512 plots. That would be a Belli 'starter' package, or a long term rental for those on a tighter budget. This would certainly feed into the urban theme that many seem to want as well.

February 17

@Extrude Ragu Made from unlinked pieces in case the neighbour fancied a cheery game of derender? It would extend the fun

February 17

I am reading my way through the 41 books of the discworld series by Terry Pratchett, many of which I have read before but I couldn't exactly remember which!
Currently half way through 'unseen academicals', a story about wizards and football.
This book, like the rest of the series mixes comedy, political commentary, references to popular culture and sheer, mind boggling inventiveness, all done with a warm heart.

February 16

I have an older alt, she doesn't age though, because of constant bathing in the soothing skin enhancing mud of the ditch I left her in.
Every now and then (five year intervals?) I feel sorry for her, and attempt to enhance her look with the latest freebies.
She was of course, absolutely fine she says, and didn't want the interruption in any case, and could I leave her alone please?
I guess alts get cranky when they get old. Maybe I will risk the accusations of being an evil plotter, and search the drains again to see if she is still there ... or maybe not?

February 16

@Scylla Rhiadra Such a beautiful image, I hadn't seen it before, thank you.

February 16

12 hours ago, matthewmc730 said:

Hello everyone, I am a current doctoral candidate at Pacific University. I am genuinely curious about the utilization of the virtual world (specifically in Second Life) among autism spectrum disorder communities. I am wondering if there are any support groups I can contact to recruit participants for my study. I appreciate any help in advance. Also, I would appreciate any insight into such a topic. Thank you so much!

What is your motivation for doing this study? It could be helpful to say if you are autistic yourself.

February 15

I have noticed the availability of the trads and vics creeping up slowly, and assumed some residents were switching to the new premium plots.
It will be interesting to see how quickly the newly released meds are taken up, it will give an indication of 2048 demand.

February 15

12 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Is joke?

I do think we need a new header photo.
I don't expect the Lindens to follow my alternative suggestions.

February 14

Blue t-shirt guy must have agonising back ache by now, I think he has been standing in the same position for years now.

Now my first thought could be controversial, angry guy wearing half buckled bondage gear yelling at someone who just flew a plane into his roof.
More peaceful than that could be a river scene, imagine a leisure style fishing boat, happy smiles all round but one character wearing a chain mail bikini, which barely contains her generously proportioned lady parts, has just pulled a no longer supported mesh head out of the river.
Or how about a focus on vehicles, a cheery chap in a construction hat attempting to shift a plywood megaprim off a linden road using a driveable crane.
So many ideas, I am sure you can think of more!

February 14

8 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

Yes, there is! 😀

Woo hoo!

February 13

1 minute ago, Trinity Blakewell said:

Herbert Thepervert...I love it. But I'm just thinking about how many times I've landed in a new home and there's been Herbert next door, but there's also been nearby Vert, and Gert, and Cert, and LiliBert and and so on. Like the whole extended family moved in and took over the neighborhood with their Thepervert activities. This is where Firestorm's Derender and Blacklist comes in handy, since a lot of their belongings are also heavily scripted.

And if you were in the position of being ousted from a parcel that your home position was previously set to...couldn't you log out (or force quit) and then log in elsewhere? I think you can get your correct home parcel information from logging onto the SL website and looking in your user dashboard.

I find it very handy that landmarks in my favourites bar* are available to me as log in tps. I keep at least one hand rez spot in there for emergency retreats! (*in firestorm)
There are ways of getting out of the situation, but for a time, my brain turned to mush

February 13

Can somebody explain this to me?

February 12

On 2/10/2024 at 6:57 PM, Nalates Urriah said:

I didn't start tracking until early 2012. I added a feature to drop out the numbers of a massive drop in users when the servers go down.

I started tracking because I saw a seasonal variation in the number of concurrent users. There is seasonal variation. More users during North American winter and less in summer. This variation appears to have changed during the pandemic. But I have had problems with my in-world data tracker. I suspect Midnoot's graph is more accurate than mine.

Peak use is about 2 to 3PM SLT. Minimum use is about 2-3AM SLT. Depending on when North American users are logged in they will see the numbers in the mid to high 40,000s. Others are likey to see from the mid 30k's to mid 40k's.

I catch the high and low concurrent user numbers for the month by querying the SL API. Not sure where Midnoot gets the numbers.

The pandemic broke the trend. The most significant change appears to be in the minimum number of concurrent users. 2024 will likely show the trend as resuming or permanently broken.

Thank you so much for this, it looks like my perception is matched by the data.
I had been wondering if my own patterns had influenced things, if in the past I had been much more random in my wandering around, and now am more intentional, so see more 'green dots'. I suppose my experience could be a combination of both those things.

February 11

Sharing images from a new game and pronouncing the imminent death of SL.
Theories about adult content being the economic mainstay of the SL economy.
Demands that SL incorporate stereo goggles compatibility, or some other rando tech device.
Naming the new continents.
Discussions about 'what Patch actually said in chat in 2019'.
This forum should work differently to suit me.
Links to lazy journalism articles about second life.
Bring back prims!
There should be more thermal vests available in the marketplace (or other item).
I should be able to have an orgy in my Belli front garden.
Any discussion which uses the words, noob, oldbie or boomer.
Discussions about whether SL should be more realistic in a chosen aspect, Hot dogs should decay!!
Land 'barons'.
How much money person x makes by selling [insert item here]
External christmas decor, see also snow rugs and excessive particle effects.
Flouncing back in.
Pointing out spelling errors.

February 11

12 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

hasn't been here in 3 years

Eep I didn't notice!

February 10

@darkintokyo
You can be just as social as you want to be in SL, there is no pressure to interact unless you feel comfortable doing so. It is quite alright, in fact perfectly normal to turn up to a busy shop, and get your stuff and go without speaking to anyone if that is what you want , or need to do for now.
There is a lot more control here than in everyday life, which makes it feel safer for some people to try things which aren't possible in real life. You can always teleport out, you can mute people, you can log off altogether and go calm down ( who is to know that you didn't have an internet outage, or a viewer crash?)
It is perfectly fine to take things slowly and find your own comfort level at any particular moment.
Lots of introverts in SL are creatives who interact with others using their work, or who simply enjoy observing rather than jumping in.
Also if you style your avatar to suit yourself, rather than trying to fit in, you are more likely to find people you get on with and like!
I think you are being quite hard on yourself, you are doing fine, it takes quite a while to find your niche and work out what you enjoy, for everyone.

February 9

No, mainland has the balance of rights tipped towards those wishing privacy so free flying isn't possible without a lot of pre-planning and willingness to deal with security orbs.

I think the Bellisseria continent has changed people's expectations though, and this is the difference now. It is so much more enjoyable to use vehicles when a different balance is struck between privacy and the shared environment.

February 9

10 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

The Log Home regions are gorgeous, but I think they have only 4 home styles. If the Moles could add 2 more - a small cabin and another A-frame with views in the opposite direction as the Grand View, - would this be enough variety for people? It seems like as long as the footprint of any new models were similar to the current ones, this shouldn't impact the landscaping.

I seem to remember a Mole post about the 'jelly mould' they use which defines the outer limits of all the styles of home to be rezzed. Surely if a new home would fit within that 'jelly mould' then it shouldn't cause an issue with the landscaping?

10 hours ago, UnilWay SpiritWeaver said:

I think most of us would just like it if Grand View could also be rotated in the OTHER direction.

I am now in the perfect log home. That's my main's main spot in mainland.

BUT to get it I had to pass over a half dozen or more other spots that were absolutely amazing if only grand view could have rotated THIS WAY instead of only THAT WAY.

If I were to build another new style in log homes... I might go for a treehouse like fantasy got, but in a lower to ground realistic theme instead of fantastical.

Yes it is almost worse to have a view that you can't see without running outside!

On 2/5/2024 at 5:30 PM, Blush Bravin said:

The thing that bothers me about the idea is imagining how people would landscape their yards. With so much space for landscaping I have the image of a lot of 'mini' forests planted inside the borders that do not in any way match or blend with the mole content. Logs has a very specific feel that I'm not quite sure could be maintained with really large yards.

This had me thinking. I wonder whether larger plots with a choice of rezzable landscaping might work?

8 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I'm very familiar with attempting this in themed areas....no matter what the full-bright, glow set to 60, super-saturated magenta tree will find a way in!!!!!

Oh so true! Though I do find if you run fast enough they never get past the slow rezzing purple mist stage.

February 9

I'm not sure if this is just my perception, or if this is really happening.

Back in the mists of time, when the overall active user base of SL was supposedly larger, I would log on UK morning time, when the USA was asleep, and could wander for hours and not meet a soul, or even see a green dot on the map.
These days I spend a lot of my time in Bellisseria, but I do also wander about, and it seems like everywhere I go, at off-peak times, there is a chance of people being around.

I am not talking large groups, or packed sims, but more activity than I remember.
There are still lots of quiet spots around, but I would no longer risk a quick tp to a clothes shop to complete my outfit whilst wearing some bizarre combo of demo tags and lost hair.

I have been putting this down to the aging population of SL and there being more retired people around who share my (UK) time zone, but I would be glad to know how others see this, and whether my experience is shared.

February 9

20 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:

So, how young does someone have to be, to be too young for SL exactly?

I think that question deserves a whole new thread

February 9

I don't want one these novelty forrin mail boxes, what is to stop loiterers reading my post or filling in my important government forms before I get to them?
I demand we have the old fashioned but very effective security letter box, embedded in the front door, with tradional sharpened edges and an alert rottweiler dog on duty behind it in case anyone thinks of poking their hand through.

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